Dentures – Waverly, IA
Realistic Dental Prosthetics to Restore Your Smile
When you’ve lost a significant number of teeth, everyday actions like speaking and eating become difficult. Patients of all ages deserve to enjoy a complete, strong smile they can feel confident about, and in Waverly, IA, Dr. Jonathan Smiley and our dedicated team want to help you regain yours. For every unique mouth, we design quality, custom-made full and partial dentures that provide comfort, stability, and aesthetic value. Contact Smiley Family Dentistry to set up an appointment!
Why Choose Smiley Family Dentistry for Full & Partial Dentures?
- Customized Treatment Plan for Each Patient
- High-Quality Materials in Restorations
- Implant-Retained Dentures Available
Who’s a Good Candidate for Dentures?
Are you missing several teeth in a row or scattered across your mouth? Maybe you don’t have any of your natural teeth left. In both cases, dentures may be the lifelike, durable, and cost-effective tooth-replacement solution you’ve been looking for! At your initial consultation with Dr. Jonathan Smiley, our team will determine if you’re a good candidate after conducting an oral exam, taking X-rays, and learning more about your dental history and smile goals. With all of this information in mind, we can determine if partial, full, or implant dentures are ideal for you.
Effects of Missing Teeth
Being able to perform everyday tasks like everyone else isn’t so easy when living without a full set of teeth. Eating certain foods, speaking without slurring, and smiling freely are things most people take for granted, but someone with missing teeth may find that these become precious desires that are no longer possible.
When teeth are no longer in their appropriate place, the jawbone experience resorption. This means that over time, with no tooth root to provide stimulation, it begins to shrink. As a result, the face can begin to sag, and additional teeth can become loose because of a loss of blood flow to the jawbone.
What Qualifies You for Dentures?
If dentures are what you are thinking about pursuing to replace your missing teeth, you’ll first need to meet with a qualified denture dentist. This meeting will require a full examination of your smile as well as your jawbone and a discussion about your overall health.
Gum disease and any existing decay must be treated before dentures can be placed, and if certain teeth are considered at risk for falling out, our team will likely recommend extraction.
The good news is that most individuals will find that dentures are a viable option. Whether they are possible right away or after preliminary treatments are provided, we can make sure that you get the kind of smile you’ve been dreaming about.
Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options
In the case that dentures are not the path you choose to take, there are other options that you may find to be better suited to meet your needs. These include:
- Dental Bridges – Crafted from two dental crowns and artificial replacement teeth also known as pontics, a dental bridge will fill in the gaps of missing consecutive teeth. The prosthetic is secured to healthy abutment teeth that serve as anchors so that you can enjoy life with a complete smile.
- Dental Implants – Relying on titanium implant posts that look similar to tooth roots, these prosthetics are placed into the jaw to create a solid support system for your new denture. Instead of relying on natural suction, the prosthetic is attached to the implant posts, offering a permanent solution to tooth loss.
Types of Dentures
As you know, no two smiles are the same. No two dentures are the same either! Depending on your specific dental needs, we can rebuild your smile and bite with partial, full, or implant dentures. You can learn more about each type right here:
Partial Dentures
Do you still have a few of your natural teeth left? Partial dentures are designed like a puzzle piece to replicate an array of missing teeth along an arch. They’re held in place with strategically positioned clips or brackets.
Full Dentures
Full dentures are designed to replace the entire top or bottom arch of teeth. We effectively replenish either or both rows at once for patients. This style of denture stays in place with natural suction or dental adhesive for a more secure fit.
Implant Dentures
Implant-retained dentures are available for patients searching for a more stable reconstructive solution. Instead of being held in place with natural suction or discreet brackets, they are anchored directly to your jawbone, providing added stability and strength.
The Benefits of Dentures
For decades now, patients have restored the look, health, and function of their smiles with dentures. Why? Well, this popular tooth-replacement solution offers several benefits! Here are a few:
Lifelike in Look and Feel
Simply put, the field of dentistry and technology in general have progressed significantly in the last decade alone. As a result, modern dentures are extremely lifelike in look and feel! That’s because they are custom-made for each patient, ensuring the restoration fits their unique dental needs and aesthetic goals perfectly. Plus, the durable materials used ensure that dentures don’t compromise on strength or function either.
Clearer Enunciation
Following tooth loss, you might notice that it’s more difficult to enunciate clearly. That’s because your tongue makes a series of distinct movements against the back of your teeth to form sounds. As a result, even a small gap in your smile can make communicating more difficult. The good news is that dentures can fill the empty spaces in your smile. In fact, they can even replace an entire arch of missing teeth, which improves your confidence as well as your communication!
Improves Nutrition
Another downside of tooth loss is that it makes it difficult to eat a well-balanced, varied diet. Fortunately, dentures can strengthen your bite, allowing you to eat fresh fruits, cooked vegetables, and other nutrient-dense foods with ease. That means that you’re less likely to experience indigestion, malnutrition, and other problems that can negatively impact your overall health too!
Cost-Effective
In short, dentures are one of the most cost-effective tooth-replacement options. In fact, even implant dentures have the potential to be the best choice for your wallet in the long run! Plus, many dental insurance providers cover a portion of the cost, which makes them even more affordable. If you’re interested in getting a price estimate, you’re more than welcome to schedule a consultation with our Waverly dental team so we can give you a general range if not a precise number.
Extremely Versatile
Hands down, one of the biggest benefits of dentures is how versatile they are. To start, the size, shape, and shade of each replacement tooth is custom-made, ensuring they look incredibly natural. Dentures can also replace a few missing teeth, an entire arch of teeth, or every single tooth, which means that patients at all stages of tooth loss can rely on this tooth-replacement solution.
Preserves Oral Health
It’s common for patients to assume that replacing a missing tooth is optional, especially if the gap isn’t visible when they smile. In reality, tooth loss can lead to several problems if left unaddressed, like dental drift. This is when the teeth surrounding the gap start to move into the open space, negatively impacting the strength of your bite and the alignment of your teeth in the process. Don’t worry – dentures can help prevent that from happening too!